From Wake in Fright (1971) to Wolf Creek (2005) to The Royal Hotel (2023), the movies keep telling us that outsiders who travel to Australia looking for adventure or a vacation, well, they shouldn’t do that. Why? Because there’s probably a gang of ruffians looking to take you on a kangaroo hunt, rape you, or just generally slaughter you. That’s to say nothing of the dangerous terrain and wildlife, seen in Walkabout (1971) and Rogue (2007), all of which seems designed by Mother Nature to be deadly. Apex follows in this cinematic tradition. But as the title of this Netflix original suggests, the protagonist is better equipped to survive Aussie perils than most. Charlize Theron plays Sasha, an American thrillseeker who faces treacherous landscapes and shady characters in the Land Down Under. One might worry that she’s in trouble, except she’s Charlize Theron, star of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Atomic Blonde (2017). Chances are, anyone who tries to mess with her will find themselves in serious trouble.

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Between 1965 and 1974, Amicus Productions, a famous British competitor to Hammer Films, made seven horror anthology movies. While The House That Dripped Blood and Tales From The Crypt are widely considered the best, there’s another complete gem that often gets forgotten. From Beyond The Grave was the final Amicus anthology, and also perhaps the greatest.

Let’s examine why.

From Beyond The Grave is written by Robin Clarke (in their only writing credit), Raymond Christodoulou (Nutcracker 1982) and R. Chetwynd-Hayes (Night Gallery TV Series 1973), and is directed by Kevin Connor (Motel Hell 1980). It is a 1974 portmanteau story centering around an antique shop named Temptations Limited, run by “The Proprietor” (played by Peter Crushing; The Curse Of Frankenstein 1957). Those that have evil intentions and try to steal from or cheat The Proprietor are met with a grizzly fate, courtesy of the objects that come from his cursed shop.

The third story is titled “The Elemental”. It starts as a standard ghost haunting story, and lays in spoof acting, with effects that are ahead of their time. It’s the silliest of the four, but still effective in its twist. And finally, “The Door” concludes the shorts. It’s about a cursed door that opens a portal to an old world, and it rides a bit too closely to the first story. But what makes it special is that the protagonists survive, because the main character didn’t cheat The Proprietor when he bought the door.

From Beyond The Grave is a fast-moving anthology with pointed endings, timeless cameos, and a powerful wrapper led by genre legend Cushing. As of this writing, it’s available to stream for free on Plex and Hoopla. It comes highly recommended, as do all of the underrated Amicus anthologies.

Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1986 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. It was also the start to a major shift in cultural and societal norms, and some of those still reverberate to this day.

We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly four dozen.

Yes, we’re insane, but 1986 was that great of a year for film.

The articles will come out – in most cases – on the same day the films hit theaters in 1986 so that it is their true 40th anniversary. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory. In some cases, it truly will be the first time we’ve seen them.

This time around, it’s May 2, 1986, and we’re off to see Blue City, Jo Jo Dancer, No Retreat No Surrender, and Saving Grace.

Blue City

As thrillers go… this is one of them.

Billy Turner (Judd Nelson) returns home to Blue City, Florida and immediately learns his father was killed. He sets about trying to solve his father’s murder and reunites with some old friends to help him on his mission.

Awful. Simply awful.

Billy seems to be some sort of copy of Axel Foley from Beverly Hills Cop, and any time he talks about his father’s death it seems like an afterthought.

Add in he hooks up with Annie (Ally Sheedy), the younger sister of his friend Joey (David Caruso), and neither of them seem all that bothered after Joey gets killed, you really have no idea who these characters are.

It’s a very confused film and no one seems to know exactly what tone they are going for.

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling

A surprisingly intimate reflection at one’s own shortcomings after one of the most public falls in history.

Jo Jo Dancer (Richard Pryor) suffers a horrible accident after freebasing cocaine, and he uses his time in the hospital to reflect on his life and what led him to this moment in time.

Yes, it is the world’s most thinly veiled look back at one’s life. Pryor famously was horrifically burned while taking drugs, and this was his way of coming back into the public eye.

It certainly is not a perfect film, but it is engaging and touching. It feels like a man who truly wanted to explore his own past and didn’t know any way to do it than through what he always knew, entertaining people.

A surprisingly candid look at one’s own life and allowing the world to take the journey with him.

No Retreat, No Surrender

Have you ever watched a movie so bad you wish it would punch you through the screen to put you out of your misery?

Jason Stillwell (Kurt McKinney) relocates to Seattle after his father’s dojo in Sherman Oaks, California is taken over by an organized crime syndicate takes it by force. Their plan? To take over every dojo in the country.

… do I need to tell you anything else about the ‘plot?’ This movie was beyond awful and I think the only reason it still exists in any form is it shows off a very young Jean-Claude Van Damme.

This is one of the worst movies I’ve seen in some time, and that’s saying a lot.

Saving Grace

It’s nice to be surprised by a movie, and it rarely happens twice in the same week.

Cardinal Bellini (Tom Conti) becomes Pop Leo XIV. After a year in the position, he gets locked out of the Vatican accidentally and decides to take the moment to reconnect with the average people. He goes to a little village he was aware of and helps them rebuild their aqueduct. Not only does he have that to contend with, but the local hoodlum, Ciolino (Edward James Olmos) doesn’t want him to succeed as he makes his money from everyone depending on him.

Yes, the fact that the fictional Pope is Leo XIV wasn’t lost on me while I was watching it.

It’s not a great movie, but I found myself engaged, and charmed by Conti’s performance. I’m not quite sure why Olmos was playing a rural Italian, but it is what it is.

It’s a charming and heartwarming film, and certainly will keep you entertained.

1986 Movie Reviews will continue on May 9, 2026, with Dangerously Close, Fire with Fire, Last Resort, and Short Circuit.